Jordan Script Routes

Human civilizations are defined by the legacy left behind by their respective ancestors. Identity politics are a major concern to people around the globe today. In this context we need to look back at our complex cultural heritage and present a positive image of tolerance and inclusiveness. Jordan has been for millennia a crossroad of many cultures, religions and ethnicities that have blended into what constitutes contemporary Jordanian culture. Jordan Script Routes is an exploratory and playful series of installations that features the history of Jordan in relation to its neighbors, presented through the various writing systems and alphabets that have passed through or were invented in this fertile cultural melting pot. It celebrates thousands of years of written and material culture, and poetically links ancient artifacts to contemporary design. The three sections of the exhibition place letters in relation to other valuable artifacts and are subtitled Of Letters & Coins, Of Letters & Silk, and Of Letters & Stones.

Dr. Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès is the Founding Director of the Khatt Foundation. Based in Amsterdam, her professional, cultural, and educational activities extend from the US, Europe and the Arab World. She holds a PhD from Leiden University, an MFA from Yale University, and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She is a member of AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale). She specializes in multilingual typographic research and design, and has published several books on this topic. She currently supervises research of PhD candidates at Leiden University’s Arts Program and works as a design curator, writer, designer, and publisher.